Reader_June22_2023

The week in random review

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Every door has its sound

Have you ever noticed how every door has its own unique sound? I can look back and isolate several different doors of my past and remember snippets of how they sounded and felt. There was the heavy groaning of my grandparents’ door, and the dull double thud of the metal knocker when you shut it. The outside door to the Farmin Building, where the Reader is located, has a little bell above it that jangles quietly, and elicits a sharp squeak right before it closes with a harumph. The door at my college dorm room had a heavy swoosh and loose jangle when it was shut, due to the fact that it closed without rubbing against the frame. The door that separated the kitchen and the front of the house at a bar I used to manage was one of my favorites. It was a swinging door that closed with a groan that reminded me of a whale’s love song from deep in the Atlantic Ocean. Try it for yourself. Next time you go through a door, take an extra moment and try to isolate that door’s unique sound. Just make sure there’s no one behind you waiting to use the same door, or you might get a few strange looks.

The blow-ins

Sometimes North Idahoans aren’t exactly the kindest to newcomers. We are fiercely protective of our home, as more and more of it is sold to developers, wealthy retirees and political migrants who view this region as some sort of haven in which to ride out the apocalypse. The rest of us just live here and try to make the best of our lives amid the stunning natural beauty that surrounds us. It gets so bad that I often see cars with California license plates with notes taped to the back window proclaiming the car is a rental so whoever is riding behind them doesn’t think it’s “just another Californian.” The irony is, usually the people who most vociferously protest the Californians are themselves from California, and have only recently moved to North Idaho. Once here, perhaps they’ll buy one of those hats with the state of Idaho shooting a tree out of it, a few bumper stickers proclaiming something about freedom and will start referring to themselves as a “local” even while their moving boxes still sit unpacked in the hallway.

Then there are the “blow-ins.” I heard this term while watching a documentary of the same name, describing the Dingle Peninsula on the coast of Ireland, which refers to the nearly 30% of its population of transplants as “blow-ins,” or those who visited, fell in love with the place and moved there without any desire to change it. Sandpoint has its own share of “blow-ins” and I appreciate every one of them.

You don’t have to be born somewhere to be a local, but you do have to show a commitment to the community before locals will ever accept you as anything more than just another newcomer trying to change this area to better suit their own desires.

Quotable

“You are free and that is why you are lost.”

— Franz Kafka

READER DEAR READERS,

Greetings from the north.

I’m currently in Canada this week to celebrate my amazing partner Cadie’s birthday. We are somewhere canoeing and camping on Kootenai Lake right now, hopefully with enough beer and bread to keep us happy for a few days until we have to restock in Nelson, B.C. (one of our favorite little towns in the West).

I believe in working hard, but I also believe in balancing it out with some adventure and fun, otherwise what the heck are we even doing here?

As our cover notes, June 21 was the official first day of summer. That means let’s be prepared for another busy season under the sun.

Extra credit assignment: What smells of summer are your favorites?

–Ben Olson, publisher

111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 (208) 946-4368 www.sandpointreader.com

Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com

Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com

Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com

Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus)

Advertising: Kelsey Kizer kelsey@sandpointreader.com

Contributing Artists: Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Erik Drost, Schweitzer, J.C. Jones, NASA, Idahoans for Open Primaries

Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Lorraine H.Marie, Brenden Bobby, Emily Erickson, Luke Omodt, Ranel Hanson, Mike Wagoner, Gary Johnson, Clark Corbin

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The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho.

We hope to provide a quality alternative by offering honest, in-depth reporting that reflects the intelligence and interests of our diverse and growing community. The Reader is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in massive bonfires to appease the gods of journalism. Free to all, limit two copies per person

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About the Cover

This week’s cover is an ode to summer, which officially began on June 21 with the solstice.

BoCo files rezone request for proposed RV park location in special Friday meeting

Move prompts vocal public pushback; board commits to streaming special meetings

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

The board of Bonner County commissioners voted during a special meeting June 16 to move forward with a zone change request and conditional use permit application through the city of Sandpoint, marking another step in the process to build an RV campground on land between the Bonner County Fairgrounds and sheriff’s complex.

The RV park plan has been divisive for months, with many community members — including Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler — arguing that the land in question would be better used as the location for a new justice complex to serve the county’s courts and jail expansion needs.

Commissioner Luke Omodt has spearheaded the effort to move forward with the RV park on the grounds that it would generate revenue and mitigate taxpayer costs for needed fairgrounds improvements. Omodt requested the June 16 meeting, which was noticed 24 hours in advance.

Board Chairman Steve Bradshaw opened the meeting by stating that no public comments would be accepted, as they were “just a formality” and only allowed at the chair’s discretion during non-hearings.

The agenda featured requests to submit two applications to the city of Sandpoint, seeing as the property in question is within city limits: first, a rezone from Mixed Use Residential to Rural Residential; and, second, a conditional

use permit. The exact requested use was unclear based on the motion, but because the memorandum referenced the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation grant acquired for the RV park expansion, that use could be inferred.

Omodt motioned to move forward with the rezone, which Commissioner Asia Williams — a consistent voice against the project who has questioned the process and overall collaboration that went into the RV park proposal — seconded in order to advance the issue for discussion. In response, Omodt called the question and requested an “immediate vote” in order to bypass discussion.

Despite this, when called to vote, Williams voiced her concerns about the rezone request, which she alleged did not undergo review by county legal counsel. When she called on a meeting attendee from the sheriff’s office to answer a question about the property, a debate broke out between the three board members over Bradshaw’s ability to squash discussion.

“The chairman has called for a roll call vote so that ends all discussion, period,” Bradshaw said. “No ‘ifs,’ ‘ands’ or ‘buts.’”

“I’m not ready to vote,” Williams responded. “I need information in order to make my vote.”

The exchange prompted several outbursts from the meeting’s audience, including, “You are not God,” directed at Bradshaw, as well as cries of “tyranny” and one call for Omodt to “wipe that smirk off [his] face.”

Bradshaw told Williams that unless she had “a serious comprehension problem,” that when a roll call vote was called, “all discussion ceases.” Williams pointed out that no discussion had even been allowed, to which Bradshaw replied: “You’re right — I didn’t because it’s just a formality.”

“It’s not a formality for an elected official to speak,” Williams replied.

“You have the majority vote, but when you screw our county, make sure you take the majority of the responsibility,” Williams went on, adding that a 24-hour meeting notice did not adequately provide for interested parties — including members of the Bonner County Fair Board, which has come out against the RV park

expansion on the contested property — to participate.

Omodt and Bradshaw voted to approve both the rezone request and CUP applications. The city of Sandpoint will make the ultimate decision on both at a later date.

The June 16 meeting was a topic of discussion at the board’s regular Tuesday, June 20 business meeting, during which Williams made a motion to stream all meetings online, including those special meetings noticed only a day in advance. Currently, only Tuesday business meetings and long-noticed public hearings are consistently streamed on YouTube and Zoom.

“I want to be held to a higher standard, and I don’t think the county should say,

‘We met the bare minimum,’” she said. “We know that the community cares about this campground. There wasn’t anything gained by doing it on Friday … but it did cost us — it cost the community feeling that we’re moving forward as a community.”

Omodt voted against the motion, alleging that it would require hiring another county employee. Williams responded that she’d been in contact with the Technology Department and confirmed that additional meetings could be covered with “not that much difficulty.”

The motion passed with two votes in favor from Williams and Bradshaw.

Bonner County commissioners Luke Omodt, left; Asia Williams, center; and Steve Bradshaw, right. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey.

Idaho open-primary supporters press on with ballot initiative, despite AG’s critique

Idaho AG’s Office has until the end of June to provide ballot titles for the open primary initiative

By Clark Corbin Idaho Capital Sun

Supporters of a proposed ballot initiative designed to eliminate Idaho’s closed party primary elections and create a new type of general election are moving forward, despite a negative legal review by Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s office.

If it qualifies for the November 2024 ballot and then approved by a majority of Idaho voters, the initiative would do two main things:

•It would replace Idaho’s closed primary elections with open primary elections that any voter could participate in, regardless of party affiliation. The new primary election would also be open to political candidates regardless of party affiliation. All candidates would run against each other in the primary election, and the four candidates who received the most votes would advance to the general election.

• The initiative would change Idaho’s general elections by creating an instant runoff, or ranked choice, voting system. Under the instant runoff, voters would vote for their first choice of candidate and also be able to rank the other three candidates in their order of preference. If no candidate wins a majority of the votes initially, an automatic process of elimination would begin based on the ranked choices voters marked on their original ballots: the last-place candidate would be eliminated and their votes transferred to the second-choice candidate on each of those ballots, until one candidate emerges as the winner by claiming a majority of the original and transferred votes.

On June 15, supporters with the group Idahoans for Open Primaries submitted the final draft of the initiative to the state for the attorney general to give it a ballot title. That is the last major step remaining before supporters of the initiative could begin their signature drive to attempt to qualify the open primary initiative for the 2024 general election.

In order to qualify the initiative,

supporters have until May 1, 2024 to gather signatures from 6% of registered voters statewide (about 63,000 Idaho voters); and 6% of the registered voters in 18 of the state’s 35 legislative districts.

The Idahoans for Open Primaries supporters coalition is moving forward after Labrador’s office issued a May 31 certificate of review of the open primary initiative that raised concerns about possible conflicts with the Idaho Constitution and legal concerns.

In the review, Labrador’s office said the initiative violates a state law that stipulates an initiative “shall embrace only one subject and matters properly connected with it.”

“The proposed initiative plainly violates Idaho Code section 341901A,” the AG’s review stated. “It addresses two distinct subjects:

(1)the so-called ‘open primary’ that eliminates party primaries; and

(2)the institution of ranked choice voting for the general election. These two matters are separate subjects and neither one depends on the other.”

Jim Jones, a former Idaho Supreme Court chief justice and former Idaho attorney general, disagrees. Jones is a supporter of the open primary initiative. He said he reviewed the initiative’s language before and after it was submitted for the AG’s review. Jones also said he is working to build support for the initiative among his fellow former elected officials from the Republican Party.

In a telephone interview, Jones said the initiative deals with only one subject — elections.

“You’re dealing with elections,” Jones said. “If you make changes to the primary election, oftentimes by necessity you are going to have to make changes to the general election. It is a single subject and the idea that it is violative of the single subject rule is patently baloney.”

This isn’t the first time Jones and Labrador have disagreed. Jones broke ranks with the Idaho Republican Party to serve as the campaign treasurer for Labrador’s Democratic opponent, Tom Arkoosh, in last year’s election. Jones has also

written opinion pieces critical of Labrador and supportive of the open primary initiative.

The Idaho attorney general’s review from Labrador’s office also said the open primary initiative violates a section of the Idaho Constitution that states the person “having the highest number of votes for the office voted for shall be elected.”

“The proposed initiative states that if no candidate receives a majority of the votes upon the count of the vote in the election, the election goes to a series of what it calls ‘instant runoff elections.’”

Jones said the Idaho Constitution doesn’t address an instant runoff election.

“I don’t think at the time our constitution was drafted, anybody was thinking about the type of election where you have a voter being empowered to make a second, third and fourth choice in case their first choice doesn’t win,” Jones said.

Labrador signed the review, which was completed by Lincoln Davis Wilson, the office’s civil litigation and constitutional defense chief, and Deputy Attorney General Jim Rice, a Republican former legislator from Caldwell, according to a note at the bottom of the review.

In addition to criticizing the legal review, Jones also alleged that Labrador injected his own personal views into the review because Labrador sent a May 2 tweet about the initiative that said, in part, “Let’s defeat these bad ideas coming from liberal outside groups.”

The Idaho Attorney General’s Office released a written statement about the initiative and review on June 20.

“The initiative proponents incorporated many of the recommended changes our office proposed,” the statement read. “It is no secret that Jim Jones has an unhealthy obsession with AG Labrador. His criticisms at this point aren’t grounded in the law but based entirely on his personal biases. If the media is searching for opposing legal views, surely they can find someone more objective.”

The Idaho Capital Sun first requested an interview with Labrador

to discuss the tweet on May 4, but efforts have been unsuccessful.

What are closed primary elections?

Idaho has a closed primary election system, following a federal court decision and a 2011 law, House Bill 351, passed by the Idaho Legislature.

The closed primary means that people who are not registered with a political party may not participate in that political party’s primary elections to select party nominees for the general election.

The law that closed Idaho’s primary elections also gives political parties the choice to open their primary elections to unaffiliated voters or all voters, if party leaders officially notify the state about opening the primary.

The Idaho Democratic Party was the only political party to hold open primary elections during the most recent state elections in 2022. The Republican Party, Constitution Party and Libertarian Party all held closed primary elections in 2022, Chelsea Carattini, a spokesperson for the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office, previously told the Sun.

What comes next for the ballot initiative?

Under Idaho Law, the Attorney General’s Office has 10 working days to provide ballot titles for the initiative.

The short title is essentially a

name for the initiative. The general title expresses the purpose of the initiative in 200 words or less.

Under state law, the attorney general shall “to the best of his ability, give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the measure and in such language that the ballot title shall not be intentionally an argument or likely to create prejudice either for or against the measure.”

State law also gives anyone who is dissatisfied with the ballot titles provided by the attorney general the ability to appeal the issue to the Idaho Supreme Court and request different ballot titles.

“If that does occur, we would go directly to the Idaho Supreme Court to try to get the ballot titles changed to comport with what the statute requires,” Jones said.

Under the 10 day timeline, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office has to provide the ballot titles by June 30.

This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com.

Organizers with Idahoans for Open Primaries plan to begin collecting signatures for a new ballot initiative this summer. Photo courtesy of Idahoans for Open Primaries.

Idaho’s risk for significant wildfires fires to increase in July and August

Dry conditions in North Idaho and grass growth in southern Idaho are two areas of concern

Bits ’n’ Pieces

From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

By Clark Corbin Idaho Capital Sun

Idaho’s potential for significant wildfires will increase in July and August, state fire officials told Gov. Brad Little and the other members of the State Board of Land Commissioners on June 20.

When fire season picks up, half of the seasonal firefighters will be brand new — as turnover leaves Idaho equipped to meet only the minimum standard of fire protection.

The Idaho Department of Lands Fire Management — which is responsible for fire suppression on more than 2.4 million acres of state endowment lands as well as additional private forests and rangelands — will be experiencing turnover among firefighters and shortages in fireline leadership personnel, Idaho Department of Lands Fire Chief Josh Harvey said.

Harvey told the Land Board that it has been difficult to retain experienced firefighters, and this season 50% of the department’s seasonal firefighting force is new.

Harvey said the department will need to pursue alternative strategies to properly maintain the fireline leadership, such as rotating engine captains out from districts that are more heavily staffed and placing them in fire districts that lack personnel with leadership qualifications.

“Based on how we have looked in years past, I would say this year we will be meeting a minimum standard for fire readiness,” Harvey said.

Firefighter pay is one reason for turnover

During the 2022 session, the Idaho Legislature approved a 24% increase in state funding for the Idaho Department of Lands 2023 budget in order to have more firefighters and resources available. That led the department to bring on 170 firefighters, up from 140 in previous years, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.

Department officials said the budget increase would allow them to increase starting pay for seasonal firefighters to $15 an hour, but state human resources officials have previously told legislators that it is tough for state wages to compete against similar or higher wages offered by fast food restaurants, retail stores and e-commerce firms.

The workforce of seasonal wildland firefighters working for federal agencies has also been destabilized by burnout and a failure to keep pace with wage inflation, as the Idaho Capital Sun and States Newsroom have reported.

Congress approved a pay increase in 2021 for entry-level federal wildland firefighting jobs, up to $15 an hour. One year ago, U.S. Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland announced the Biden administration’s plan to build a health and wellbeing program for wildland firefighters and boost spending on firefighting efforts.

But it will take congressional action to sustain the current wage rates.

“The temporary pay increases for firefighters authorized under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will continue through the end of the fiscal year (Sept. 30),” U.S. Forest Service Deputy Chief Jaelith Hall-Rivera wrote in an update June 20 on wildland firefighter pay. “We are doing everything we can to inform and educate members of Congress on the potential consequences of the pay cliff.”

Unusual rainfall left fuel in southern Idaho, while North Idaho snowpacks melted

Thanks to a record snowpack in late winter and early spring, most of Idaho has had a slow start to the fire season.

But there are two big causes of concern for July and August, Nick Nauslar, a Bureau of Land Management fire meteorologist, told the Land Board during its meeting at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.

The gradual snowpack runoff and a wet early spring in southern Idaho has allowed grasses and shrubs to grow, which will dry out and increase the fire risk.

“One thing that does come with all that rainfall and precipitation is grasses grow, shrubs grow and we get more fuels on the landscape, especially in the rangeland,” Nauslar said.

“Due to this above normal fuel loading, we are anticipating that it will dry out some time this summer and will likely increase significant fire potential, especially in the next couple of months,” Nauslar added.

Another area of concern is in North Idaho and the panhandle region, Nauslar said. Those areas had a smaller snowpack, which melted off much more readily and gave way to dry conditions and drought.

“This is a concern for us with the timber in North Idaho and obviously higher elevations up there too, that they will have a longer time to dry out and be available for ignition and fire spread,” Nauslar said.

This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com.

The head of the United Nations recently criticized fossil fuel companies for not phasing out a product “incompatible with human survival.” Fossil fuel interests said the planet can be saved by capturing carbon emissions, but, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, that makes them “more efficient planet-wreckers.” He noted that for every dollar spent on oil and gas drilling and exploration “only four cents” goes to clean energy and carbon capture. He called for a “credible” industry plan for shifting to clean energy, allowing the industry to be “relevant actors in the world economy.”

In recent months, COVID-era health coverage has ended for many: About 1.5 million people were removed from Medicaid, most of them eligible for coverage, the AP reported.

A Fox News producer who used an on-air headline to label President Joe Biden a “wannabe dictator” offered to resign in two weeks. But, the AP said, he was told to leave “immediately.”

Inflation is the lowest it’s been in two years, at 4%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Unemployment also remains low (around 4%), and, since Biden took office, approximately 12.6 million jobs have been created

According to factcheck.org, that’s 3.2 million more jobs than before the pandemic. But, former-Labor Secretary Robert Reich wrote, corporate media insists a “painful” recession looms, and 80% of people polled said the economy is “bad and getting worse.”

Republicans recently released a proposed 2024 tax package that gives billions in tax breaks to well-heeled interests. If made permanent, the tax breaks are expected to cost more than $1 trillion.

If Trump-era tax cuts for the wealthy are made permanent, the Congressional Budget Office said that would add $3.5 trillion to the deficit through 2033. According to the Coalition on Human Needs, Republicans’ plan to pay for the $1 trillion tax breaks on the wealthy by eliminating green energy tax credits that are part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Their wish list includes an $800 million cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women and other cuts that defy the debt ceiling deal

Twenty House Republicans joined

Democrats to defeat a resolution calling for the Ethics Committee to investigate Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and censure him for his part in investigating former-President Donald Trump. Politico reported that the failed resolution had also sought a $16 million fine if it was determined that Schiff had “lied, made misrepresentations and abused sensitive information.”

Blast from the past: Daniel Ellsberg, who recently died at age 92, is best known for triggering the collapse of Richard Nixon’s presidential administration. As a military analyst, he became a team member assigned to compile a history of the Vietnam War. The 7,000-page study documented numerous government lies and was intended to be secret. Disturbed by the lies, Ellsberg shared the study with members of Congress, where it languished. He then took the report to a New York Times reporter, saying it should not be copied: only recorded via notes. That agreement was defied, with The Times claiming the study was “the property of the people” and was paid for by “the blood of their sons.” In mid-July 1971 The Times grabbed national attention when it began publishing what it called “The Pentagon Papers.” Nixon’s attorney general tried to stop the publication by threatening prosecution. Later the Supreme Court said The Times had the right to publish, and Ellsberg leaked the report to other papers. Nixon’s concerns included his own secret actions regarding Vietnam, such as when an ally undermined peace talks before the 1968 presidential election. To head off re-election concerns, Nixon created a special investigation unit for stopping leaks, referred to as “the plumbers.” The conspirators engaged in burglaries and sabotage targeting Nixon’s various opponents. In 1972, five burglars were found at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. The White House dismissed it as a “third-rate burglary attempt,” but Washington Post reporters followed a money trail that led to the White House. None of this sank Nixon’s re-election: He won office with 60.7% of the vote. The issue, however, erupted again when one of the burglars later wrote to a judge to say he had lied at trial due to pressure from government officials. The White House counsel began cooperating with prosecutors, which led to Nixon being the first president to resign, on Aug. 9, 1974.

Emily Articulated

A column by and about Millennials

Writing and vulnerability

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist

I started writing this column in 2017, after moving to Sandpoint during a period of great personal transition. Months before, I left my job, my relationship and my home in search of an inspired life and landed on this little patch between mountains and lake — in a town small enough that I wouldn’t get swallowed up in it, but large enough (I hoped) that I might find what I needed for building a future.

I picked up my laptop like a pickaxe, asking, “People make a living on these things somehow, right?” with romanticized visions of me and a swatch of unknown sky as my office ceiling. So I decided to become a writer — a job title the Reader graciously helped me start to pursue. I tucked into an office with Lyndsie and Ben, delighted and baffled that they were agreeing to print my words. Together, we turned over what would be my column’s point of view, and we landed, as my subtitle reads, on a column, “By and About Millenials.”

Over time, however, as quips about avocado toast and unreachable housing costs wore thin, I wanted to do more than defend and self-deprecatingly poke fun at my generation (and my place within it). The blinking cursor

at the top of my Google Doc felt increasingly like an invitation, asking me to start finding my voice, begin sharing truths and develop this craft that I’d brazenly claimed as mine.

Slowly, I began peeling back the protective layers of myself to expose something softer, spongier and more capable of receiving the world around me. I tried pushing beyond simply listening to others and attempted to absorb parts of their lives, all so I could more easily squeeze their experiences through my filter and back onto the page.

I wanted to learn how to share parts of my life too, pulled toward the honesty of narrative and the vulnerability of storytelling. In the clunkiness of my attempts, I also had to navigate what that sharing opened me up to (like the complete stranger who commented on my first personal story with, “Just another entitled Millennial. This article uses the word ‘I’ 37 times *eye-roll*”).

But for every eye-roll, I’d also receive feedback like, “I really appreciated your last piece,” or “I had a similar experience, thank you for sharing.” And I knew I was on to something. More than punchy lines, well-executed metaphors or flawless grammar (all of which I swear, I’ll never perfect), people responded to my openness.

In the past five years, I’ve written about the loss of both my parents, life after an eating disorder, struggling through a pandemic, my existential dread about the state of the world, searching for and finding love, and building the life I moved here to hope for. So much more than a bi-weekly exercise in writing 700 words for print, is the regular practice of vulnerability and the pursuit of human connection. Writing this column has taught me, time and again, that the experiences that feel so personal — so specific to my life — are often the ones in which people find the most of themselves and their own lives.

It’s one of the few universals of which I’m certain: Someone, somewhere has had, if not our exact set of circumstances, then similar responses to or feelings about theirs. And by sharing, we invite the opportunity for real and meaningful connection.

When it comes to writing, I have a lot left to learn. But I’m grateful for the opportu-

nity to continue to do so. And throughout that learning, I will try to stay vulnerable and perpetually practice engaging with and reflecting the world around me, in a voice I hope to never stop developing.

Thank you for receiving me, for offering feedback, for reaching out and for allowing me to continue my

forever-pursuit of becoming a writer.

Emily Erickson is a writer and business owner with an affinity for black coffee and playing in the mountains. Connect with her online at www.bigbluehat.studio.

Emily Erickson.

By Zach Hagadone

Bouquets:

•I recently went in and had my creepy comb over-looking mop cleaned up by Kylee Cropper, of Cropper & Co. at 210 N. Second Ave. in downtown Sandpoint. She trimmed my daughter’s hair, then mine, all the while chatting, cracking jokes, catching up on things and generally being awesome (she even gave me a beer). When she asked me what I wanted done with my rapidly disappearing hair, I essentially said, “Make it look like I’m not going bald.” She nodded and knew, and did an amazing job, and I can’t recommend her enough.

Barbs:

•I’ve been holding onto this gripe for months. So now’s my shot: I am as pissed off as I am bewildered by the fact that for some reason, an enormous number of motorists in Sandpoint seem to have forgotten how four-way stop intersections work. For real, people, here’s Idaho Code, 49-640, which is aptly titled “Rules of the Road”: “(1) When two (2) vehicles approach or enter an unmarked or uncontrolled intersection from different highways at approximately the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right of way to the vehicle on the right.” Furthermore, in the freakin’ driver’s manual, it states plainly: “Idaho law requires you to: STOP before the stop line or crosswalk at any intersection posted with a stop sign. If there is no stop line or crosswalk, stop before entering the intersection, but close enough to see cross traffic. … Motor vehicles must yield to pedestrians when: The pedestrian is in a marked or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. … [and, critically] The first vehicle to arrive at a four-way stop has the right of way. If two vehicles arrive at the same time, the vehicle on the left must yield to the vehicle on the right.” I taught my kids how to wait their turn when they were 2 years old — right around the time they learned their left from right. I suggest that some of you brush up on these basic skills. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

How would Freedom Foundation rate Durst’s proposed perks?…

Dear editor,

After reviewing the contract addendum provisions for Branden Durst, who recently applied for the West Bonner superintendent’s position, I had to wonder, what if an Idaho legislator proposed these in an education bill?

Among the provisions in Durst’s contract were:

•Housing allowance;

•Free meals at schools;

•District provided legal counsel for spouse;

•Use of a district provided vehicle;

•Term life insurance policy;

•Moving cost reimbursement.

While I understand the importance of incentives to attract the “best and the brightest,” I wonder, how would the Idaho Freedom Foundation rate a bill with these provisions?

Mary Ollie Bonners Ferry

Dear editor, Trustee Susan Brown is fond of saying that the children in our district deserve a shot at the moon. However, her recent actions don’t back up her statements. She recently walked out of a board meeting where two trustees were diligently trying to trim the fat off a proposed contract for the new career politician that was selected as our next superintendent.

Our district recently voted down a levy and will be making huge cuts. She is constantly speaking about how the district needs to live within its means and have financial responsibility. It’s interesting that her new choice for superintendent was asking for a living stipend, on top of his six-figure salary; a car to use for personal and professional use, with all expenses being paid by our district; a moving allowance; remote work capabilities; major contributions from the district to his retirement account; and free food at any school. And, as a fiscal conservative, she’s OK with this.

Trustee Brown has also struggled her entire term to understand how to make a motion or second a motion during school board meetings. At the last meeting on June 14, she had a prepared script in her hand directing her what to say. This prepared script had two motions on it, which basically were to scratch the agenda and adjourn the meeting. She made these

motions, instead of approving the cuts to the proposed contract.

Parents and community members have made it very clear to the board that they do not want a career politician with a volatile past to run our schools. Trustee Brown has made it very clear that the only one she is helping to shoot for the moon is a politician, not our students.

Tiffany Simpkins Priest River

Why does Durst want to be superintendent of WBCSD?…

Dear editor,

Parents are fearing what the recent decisions of the board mean for their children going into the West Bonner County School District. These individuals of the “Idaho Freedom Foundation” have organized a hostile environment toward the families that are concerned about the direction School District 83 is heading.

The Idaho Freedom Foundation is a political group that openly speaks out against public education, and the “indoctrination” of our youth. If you were to look on this group’s website (idahofreedom.org), you are going to find articles such as, “Why Public School Kids Still Can’t Read,” and “Get Your Children Out of Public Schools.”

As a Republican and proud American myself, I do believe that these individuals have the right to their opinions. However the question must be asked, “If this group is so against public education, then why is Branden Durst, a senior analyst for the group, pushing so hard to be voted in as our superintendent?”

I implore every person reading this to ask themselves the same question. In our local public schools I was taught to listen to reason, and Mr. Durst wanting this position, knowing what he believes in, goes against all reason.

assure you, they do not speak for myself or many other constituents.

Second, as a parent and constituent of WBCSD 83 district, I can certainly say that many of us are not happy with the selection of superintendent, nor are we overjoyed about being misrepresented by our local school board. We have emailed, sent letters and spoken up in disagreement with our board, and only two out of five will even consider our concerns, let alone represent us.

Parents are fearful for our children’s futures. There are others spewing hatred for “indoctrination” and claiming there are sexualized reading materials in our school libraries. May I ask… have any of you stepped foot in our district libraries? Have any of you witnessed indoctrination?

At the last board meeting — if that is what members of the board wish to call it — I witnessed a well known state representative put her hands on a preschool teacher for taking photos of her notes while she intimidated parents giving interviews stating their concerns. I watched as members of the “Priest River Patriots” taunted parents with gestures and with claims that, “You lost,” while others held cameras at the ready in order to catch aggression or hostility. I watched as these self-prescribed patriots told a mother with four special needs children that, “We deserved what was happening,” due to the loss of staff that would be needed to help her children succeed.

Let me assure you, those individuals are inciting hostility, and they most certainly are not speaking for me.

Nikelle Collins

LMSW, P.R. alumni, P.R. parent, WBCSD 83 constituent Priest River

W.Bonner school trustees following their own agenda…

dismantle the public school system. Mr. Durst has a social media presence that is aggressive, unprofessional and a terrible model for our children. The community has been outspoken in their opposition to hiring Mr. Durst, however, three WBCSD board trustees have repeatedly ignored the community and continued to go forward with the hiring process.

Mrs. Luckey has taught school in WBCSD since 1984, has been a dedicated teacher and principal, and has been filling the role of interim superintendent since the former superintendent resigned in March of this year. She also received her provisional superintendent certificate on June 14, making her the most and only qualified candidate to have applied for the position. Not only that, but the community was very clear that they wanted Mrs. Luckey to serve as their superintendent, as they trust and value her dedication to their children and have 38 years of evidence of what she will bring to the position.

The three board members in question, however, continue to ignore their constituents and pursue their own agenda. We need to ensure that this board is held accountable. We are talking about our children and we will not be ignored.

Sincerely,

Tracy Naccarato Priest River

Kudos and congrats on CHAFE 150 success…

Dear editor,

Congratulations to the Rotary Club of Sandpoint for organizing and hosting another successful CHAFE 150 charity fundraiser. If you were out and about last Saturday, you couldn’t help but see the 325 cyclists who participated in this immense event.

Bailey R. Davis Priest River Dear editor,

Agitators in WBCSD don’t represent community…

Today I am writing as an individual who wants to clarify a few important items that are near and dear to my heart regarding the status of the West Bonner County School District 83.

First, it disturbs me that there are individuals who do not reside in our district writing about how we feel about our newly selected superintendent and our school board. Let me

Dear editor, I am writing as a parent/alumni of West Bonner County School District. We believe in a strong community and support our public schools. However, our school board trustees seem to have an agenda other than what is best for our schools and children. Because of their conduct, the parents in this community do not trust our trustees.

I am writing specifically with concerns regarding Mr. Branden Durst. Mr. Durst is not qualified to be certified as a superintendent in the state of Idaho and works for the Idaho Freedom Foundation. The IFF is openly anti-public schools. Their website lays out their plan to

Proceeds stay in the Lake Pend Oreille School District community with a primary focus on youth literacy for early elementary LPOSD students, but also going toward academic scholarships and youth leadership activities.

Through collaboration with booktrust.org, children are motivated to read. Each month, every first- and second-grader will choose their own book to read at school, which they take home to keep.

I am happy to be a recurring sponsor of the event and constantly amazed how our citizens pull together to make our community such a great place to live.

Jim Woodward Sagle

W. Bonner trustee favors ‘career politician’ over students…

In defense of the fairgrounds RV park

‘Why this commissioner remains committed to this project’

By Commissioner Luke Omodt, Dist. 3 Reader Contributor

The first Bonner County Fair was held in 1927 at the original fairgrounds at War Memorial Park. Twenty communities were represented, and it was sponsored by Bonner County and the Sandpoint Kiwanis Club. The first fair board was formed in 1930; some of the family names from these early years such as Albertson, Anselmo, Culver and McNall — as well as organizations such as the Bonner County Sportsmen Association and Kiwanis — remain involved with the fair today.

In 1960, Bonner County purchased 40 acres of land on North Boyer Avenue that were to become the new fairgrounds. In 1963, the fair applied for an Accelerated Public Works Grant to help with building on the new grounds after the Sandpoint City Council decided not to extend the lease on the War Memorial Field grounds. In 1967, plans for the new fairgrounds were presented to the public; the cost for construction was to be paid for from a building levy fund and the fair operation levy with a proposed relocation date in 1970.

In 2009, the first of five proposed phases of an RV park was added to the fairgrounds as an amenity and a way to generate revenue to support fairgrounds maintenance and operations.

The 2022 Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation grant to expand the RV campground is a continuation of the longstanding practice of the Bonner County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) and Bonner County Fair Board (BCFB) working together. The Bonner County fairgrounds has relied on publicly funded grants, civic groups and churches from its inception in 1927 for improvements to avoid additional burdens to our local taxpayers.

In a letter dated March 28, 2001, then-Fairgrounds Manager Sharon Bryant requested a meeting with the BOCC “to go over some of the budgetary and management problems I have been encountering ever since I took over the management of the Fairgrounds … The previous commissioners told me they want me to become self-supporting.”

In fiscal year 2023, Bonner County provided $405,000 for ribbons, salaries and

benefits of fairground staff.

On March 22, 2023 the BOCC and BCFB signed a memorandum of understanding clarifying the relationship between the county and the Fair Board. The county provides the Fair Board use of legal counsel (except where there is a conflict of interest), information technology support, risk management, internal auditing, human resources, and additional support from departments such as Road and Bridge.

One of the general provisions in the MOU is, “Authority to Apply for and Administer Grants. As the fee-simple owner of the fairgrounds, the County shall be solely responsible for all grants which may affect or impact that property, and the Board of County Commissioners shall be the entity responsible for grant application, administration, and compliance.”

Management of the fairgrounds has and always will be a challenge, with events including the fair, rodeo, demolition derby, motocross, emergency firefighting campsite, RV campground and grad night, to name a few.

The county commissioners are always considering how to provide our statutorily mandated services in a fiscal environment where costs are skyrocketing and our budget is capped at 3% growth per year. For context, Bonner County’s population grew 4% last year, inflation through May of 2023 is at 5.25% and median home prices are around $600,000.

In a future article, I will address the controversy surrounding the Idaho Parks and Recreation grant related to the fairgrounds, and provide perspective and evidence for why this commissioner remains committed to this project.

If you are interested in reading the Bonner County Fair Board MOU or have general questions about anything in this article, send me questions at luke.omodt@ bonnercountyid.gov.

Raising taxes and denying revenue makes no sense for this and all other local taxpayers.

Luke Omodt represents District 3 on the Bonner County Board of Commissioners, comprising the areas immediately north of Sandpoint and the eastern portion of the county.

Commissioner Luke Omodt.

Science: Mad about

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

As you’re reading this, I’m currently living my best life as an international jet setter.

By that, I mean I’m in Vancouver, B.C., checking out the library and Science World.

Before I left, I made sure to inundate the Reader staff with plenty of articles to stuff the pages while I’m gone. Today, we’re going to take a look at my favorite summertime treat.

Watermelon, Citrullus lanatus, is a flowering plant that produces large, weighty berries that are very sweet with a thick protective rind. You read that right: The fruit of a watermelon is a berry, at least according to botanists.

In botany, a berry is defined as a fleshy fruit without a pit or stone that is produced from one flower that contains one ovary. By this same definition, raspberries and strawberries are not berries at all.

Try telling all of that to chef Christina Tosi while making a watermelon and strawberry soufflé, and it will become immediately apparent that botanical definitions and culinary definitions are two markedly different things.

Another quirk of botany is referring to the plant by the name of the fruit. A bush that grows blueberries is a blueberry, even if you may hear it referred to as a “blueberry bush” or “blueberry plant.” The same is true of the watermelon.

The watermelon is a vining plant that loves to sprawl out and take over a wide space. There’s a reason that watermelons have adapted to do this. Vining plants are brilliant natural adaptations that have traded stability for

maximized growth. Things like grapes, squash and melons use vines, which are just the plant’s stem, to reach outward and use other plants as their support. This means the plant can devote less energy to creating a structure to bear fruit, and more energy to creating the fruit and maximizing its chances of survival and reproduction.

Let’s look at an example of how this works by comparing an apple to a watermelon. An apple’s fruit has a very thin rind, so it needs to be high off the ground while it’s developing, or it’s likely to be eaten.

To accomplish this, the tree devotes a tremendous amount of energy and resources from sunlight, water and the soil to build a thick and powerful trunk and branches to grow apples up in the air and away from crawling pests. Because of the energy being devoted to growing the tree, and since the apple is now suspended in the air and subject to gravity, the apples need to be smaller and lightweight.

A watermelon doesn’t have a thick and powerful trunk. Instead, it will vine outwards to anchor itself to other plants. The fruit has a thick rind to protect the seeds from hungry fauna, and the plant doesn’t have to worry about fighting gravity to support the fruit. This creates the perfect conditions to create massive berries that are loaded with seeds, giving the plant a great chance at making more plants in the spring. This is true of squash as well, and is among the reasons we see massive pumpkins and zucchini in the fall.

These plants are an ancient cultivar that have vined their way across much of the Eastern Hemisphere during antiquity. We’ve traced the plant’s genes to an

ancestor in southern Africa that was specially adapted to hoard water in a dry climate. There are historical records of the Indigenous people of this area roasting the seeds from this plant, similar to pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds today.

The flesh of this ancestor plant was believed to be very tough and bitter, a far cry from the watermelon we know now. Around 4,000 years ago, this plant traveled north into Egypt, where it was selectively bred to more closely resemble the delicious sugary watermelon we’re familiar with. It wouldn’t take long for the plant to make its way into Europe, where a wetter climate helped it balloon into becoming a red and green giant.

We can take a rare glimpse into the watermelon’s ancestral history, thanks to Renaissance paintings. One in particular shows a curious example of a watermelon that seems to have pockets of red flesh suspended between ridges of white rind.

Italian artist Giovanni Stanchi created a still-life painting during the 17th century that depicts a carved watermelon. Curiously, this melon seems to have funky red spirals and familiar black seeds scattered throughout. The spiraling flesh looks like a symptom of hollow heart, an affliction that affects watermelons that were not properly pollinated, but the presence of developed seeds dispels this theory. This leads us to believe that either an unusual breed of watermelon existed in Italy during the 1600s, or the painter took a few creative liberties for the sake of representing an identifiable fruit.

Another brain-boggling tidbit of information that may change your view of watermelons forever is this: the juicy red flesh that we love so much is actually the

placenta. This sugary red tissue is designed to help support the seeds and offer them a jumpstart when the body of the melon begins to decompose. As gross as that sounds, consuming plant tissue is a completely different organic process than consuming animal tissue, and something we should all do regularly.

A final factoid for your barbecue is the most important answer of all: why watermelons are red. Red is a somewhat uncommon

color in the plant world, as plants often prefer green chlorophylls to help with photosynthesis. The red of a watermelon’s flesh comes from something called lycopene, which is a carotenoid, or a red pigment that’s found in other plants like tomatoes and carrots. Luckily for us, watermelons taste nothing like either of those, as most of the taste involved comes from the sugars of the giant berry.

Stay curious, 7B.

Corner

•The word “summer” originates from the Old Eng lish word sumor, which meant “together” in the original language.

•The phrase “dog days of summer” is used to refer to sweltering summer days, but it has more to do with stars than dogs. The Roman’s dies caniculares (or “dog days”) began toward the end of July, when the star Sirius began to rise in the sky just before the sun. The star was so bright the Romans believed it gave extra heat to the sun and was responsible for the hot days we experience during summer.

•One iconic sound of summer is the gentle hum of crickets chirping. Did you know you can determine the temperature by listening to crickets’ chirps? It’s called Dolbear’s law after a widely referenced publication on the phenomenon in 1897 by Amos Dolbear. His observations showed you can count the number of chirps per 15 seconds, add 40 and that will give you the approximate temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

•A midnight baseball game is traditionally played in Fairbanks, Alaska on the summer solstice. The game begins at 10:30 p.m. and ends around 1:30 a.m. without any artificial lighting. The tradition began in 1906 and has been played every year since 1960 by the Alaska Goldpanners.

•Twice a year (on May 28 and July 12), Manhattan is home to a fascinating sunset phenomenon. Owing to the city’s design on a grid rotated 29 degrees clockwise from true east-west, twice a year the sun sets directly at the end of many of New York’s major streets. This creates a spectacular sunset during which observers see the sun slightly above the horizon and nestled between the rows of buildings.

•On a hot day in Paris, the Eiffel Tower actually grows taller. The tower is constructed of iron and when this is warmed it expands, causing the structure to grow by about six inches.

A Giovanni Stanchi painting from the 17th century showing how breeding has changed the look of a watermelon in modern times. Courtesy image.

Summer at Schweitzer offers ‘wild to mild’ entertainment options

By Reader Staff

Summer will soon be officially underway at Schweitzer, the largest ski resort in Idaho and Washington. Schweitzer’s Great Escape chairlift will start running Friday, June 23, marking the launch of an exciting season of activity that will include the return of hosted e-bike rides, Huckleberry Shuttles and Movies on the Mountain, as well as new seasonal lodging and spa packages, and more.

“We are looking forward to another summer of fun at Schweitzer,” stated Schweitzer President and CEO Tom Chasse. “We’re excited to enjoy summer favorites from mountain biking and outdoor movies to outdoor dining and events. Our spa, Cambium, opened earlier this year, so this is also a great time to dive in and experience some unique wellness and relaxation options.”

This summer will see the return of a number of popular programs at Schweitzer, including Movies on the Mountain. Returning after a multi-year hiatus, the film series offers free, family-friendly screenings on the lawn outside Crow’s Bench each Friday in August.

Hosted e-bike rides are also back this year. Geared toward exploring the quieter side of Schweitzer, the two-hour tours loop around a 10- to 12-mile trail while guides offer information on the flora and fauna of the region.

Schweitzer’s Huckleberry Shuttle will also operate this summer. Running on select dates beginning in late July, Huckleberry Shuttles will transport guests to special spots to pick one of North Idaho’s signature wild treats. Hosted e-bike rides and Huckleberry Shuttles are fee-based and advance reservations are available and encouraged by contacting the Activity Center at Schweitzer.

Summer visitors can also experience therapies at Cambium Spa, which offers services designed to help guests “rev up for their day, reboot from their mountain adventures and tune in to their mind and body,” according to the resort.

Also new this season, Schweitzer is offering a “forest air escape package,”

combining a two-hour spa experience at Cambium with dining at Crow’s Bench and overnight lodging at Humbird. At Cambium, guests have access to a combination of massage, halo infrared therapy and a sound lounge “to encourage the connection to one’s deeper inner wisdom by quieting the brain and soothing the nervous system,” providers stated.

Afterward, guests are invited to an alpine-inspired meal at Crow’s Bench before retiring to their rooms at Humbird. Rates start at $305 per person and can be booked at schweitzer.com.

Weekends and holidays at Schweitzer this summer feature “wild to mild” events including Race the Wolf from Saturday, June 24-Sunday, June 25, with distances and routes ranging from a five-mile fun run to half- or full-marathon. The Northwest Wine Fest arrives at

Schweitzer on Saturday, July 15-Sunday, July 16, showcasing Pacific Northwest wines alongside local food, activities and music. The ever-popular Fall Fest will close out the summer season, Friday, Sept. 1 through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4, with live music, beer and cider tastings and more.

Schweitzer’s Ultimate Fun Pass is also back this summer, including unlimited foot passenger scenic chair rides; access to the trampoline jumper, climbing wall and zipline; and one sack of jewels for the Cranky Jennings Sluice Box.

The Ultimate Fun pass is $35 for children 7 and under and $45 for children 8 and older.

Schweitzer’s events schedule includes complete details and additional events taking place throughout the season. For more information, visit schweitzer.com.

Riding the Great Escape Quad in summer. Photo courtesy Schweitzer.

Dirt-y Secrets

June is the gardener’s favorite month

By Ranel Hanson Reader Columnist

“June is bustin’ out all over!”

— Carousel, by Rodgers and Hammerstein

This is the month gardeners wait for all year. Seeds are planted and sprouting up, flower baskets are getting more beautiful daily, birds are everywhere, bees are working hard and we have the whole summer ahead of us. What a time to celebrate life.

Speaking of birds, I have a decorative birdhouse on my front porch. A mother swallow has decided that it is suitable for nesting — this, despite the comings and goings all day long and the very curious dog who just can’t get over the whole thing. A sassy bird who is just out of reach but who will enter a stare-off at any time is

great summertime entertainment. Hummingbirds are going to disappear for a while soon while they nest. They like some privacy while they take care of their eggs. But, before you know it, they will bring the babies to your flowers and feeders as they teach them where to find food. Be sure to keep those feeders clean and filled. When the weather is hot, sugar water spoils quickly.

Your springtime bulbs are mostly spent by now. However, they need the leaves to store nutrients for next year’s blooms, so leave them until they turn brown. And, this fall, plant as many allium bulbs as you can afford. They are bee magnets and so dramatically beautiful with their big, round, purple heads. And, deer don’t like them.

I have a new-to-me discovery to pass on: 30% vinegar. Perhaps I

am the only one who didn’t know about this weed killer, but now that I do, I am hooked. I have used regular kitchen vinegar for years, but this is the heavy-duty stuff.

You can get it at nurseries and big box stores and it is highly effective. One caution though: Put it in your spray bottle and adjust to a tight stream. Then, get down close and spray the weed thoroughly. If your spray is wide and soaks the surrounding plants or grass, it will kill those, too. Best to do it on a hot, dry day with no sprinkler activity for 24 hours.

Also new to me, there is a local organization — the Mighty Monarchs — which promotes milkweed planting as an aid to monarch butterflies. Milkweed is essential to monarch butterflies as they must lay their eggs on it so that when the caterpillars hatch, they can get right to eating. Milkweed is their only food. I have planted milkweed for the past three years, and now it is spreading and very robust. It is also beautiful and deer resistant. We are not on the main monarch migration route, but we do get some, and the more milkweed we have for them, the more will come.

They are in danger of extinction, so it is well worth our while to attract and care for them. If you are interested in knowing more, you can contact TheMightyMonarchs@gmail.com.

Here’s another bit of new information, and this one I would rather not have. I have a boxwood

hedge that has been in place for probably 25 years. It has some dead spots that I have been trying to revive without much luck. I don’t know if it has reached the end of its lifespan (20-30 years) or if it has somehow contracted the dreaded boxwood blight.

Does anyone know about this issue? I don’t know if I can save it, or how to do that. If you have experience with this, or advice to give me, contact me at dirtygardeningsecrets@gmail.com.

So far, I have cut out some obviously dead branches and watered the daylights out of it. My theory is that the autumn clematis that covered it all winter didn’t allow water to reach it through the frozen soil.

Finally, a word about mosquitos: Hordes of them! Swallow houses and bat houses are helpful, but this year, crickey! Remember to empty that standing water and try to stay away from tall grass and woods at dusk. These guys are voracious and obnoxious.

Enjoy our beautiful area and squeeze all the summer fun into each and every day. And don’t use pesticides.

Courtesy photo.

PERSPECTIVES

By Mike Wagoner Reader Contributor

Refugee

I have a duplex here… I live in the bottom half and have been renting out the top to a 20-somethin’ girl with a 6-year-old, who has been that dream tenant all landlords hope for. I like hangin’ out in her place a little more than my own. Lotsa plants. Cool stuff on the walls. Bachelors tend not to fool with the little things that really cozy up a place.

She was recommended highly by a couple people I knew, and they weren’t fibbin’. I’m glad I gave her a screamin’ deal… about all she could afford… which was about half of what I could have gotten for the place. It was worth it. She helps me out since I’m gone quite a bit… mows… makes sure the chickens are fed and watered… snow-blows the drive when my back is complainin’. She appreciates what I did for her.

Things have changed recently… my daughter and her family have fallen on some hard times in Spokane. The mortgage they’ve been paying, along with both their cars needing some major first aid and

lookin’ at a couple young mouths to feed with a third one on the way (I told her they know what causes that now), has turned into a situation a little too big for them to swallow. I finally just told them they could come to my place if they wanted too, and I could build somethin’ out back for me. I’d give ’em a screamin’ deal. They said… OK.

It’ll be fun having them around, but there’s a down side… right… my dream tenant, with a full- time job plus a night workin’ in a pizza joint, still might not be very welcome around here, for she is one of the many young economic refugees. She may get lucky… she went to high school here… was a cheerleader… she knows people… there may be a warm and dry hiding place for her via the Sandpoint underground.

It would be cool if some owners of rentals around here would sorta buck the trend and do with a little less… they just might end up with a little more.

Journalism is notorious for being a career in which work-life balance is essentially unattainable. We here at the Reader do our best to respect weekends and holidays, but the reality is that when you work in the business of things that happen, things are always happening

To make matters worse, reporter culture is guilty of glorifying the “grind” — early mornings, late nights, brutal deadlines and insider jokes about a general disregard for personal wellbeing. Reporter Twitter makes it seem like self-neglect in the name of filing the story is a prerequisite for the job.

To be a professional athlete is a job different in almost every way from being a newspaper reporter, except possibly in the realm of being unable to leave work at work. I spent a fair share of time in my youth idolizing professional athletes — especially basketball players. I’ve stopped following the NBA almost altogether, so I was surprised last week when I found myself once again idolizing one of the league’s stars.

Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets just secured the franchise’s first-ever NBA Championship. The Slovic native had 28 points, 16 rebounds and four assists in the Nuggets’ fifth game victory and earned MVP honors for his performance. Jokic was the 41st draft pick in the 2014 NBA draft, but it’s not his unlikely rise to stardom that makes him honorable in my eyes — it’s his unapologetic commitment to the work-life balance.

During the post-game celebration, Jokic told reporters: “We succeeded in our jobs and we won the whole thing. It’s an amazing feeling. But like I said before, it’s not everything in the world. ... There is [a] bunch of things that I like to do. Probably that’s a normal thing. Nobody likes his job, or maybe they do. They’re lying. But it’s a good feeling.”

Asked if he was excited for the

victory parade through Denver, Jokic inquired when it was happening. Informed the parade wasn’t scheduled for a few days, he responded: “No. I need to go home.”

When he checked his phone during the post-game press conference, Jokic let out an exasperated expletive.

“How many texts do you have?”

“A lot,” he replied, before powering down his device.

We are used to the Michael Jordan image of the championship MVP: basking in glory, draped over the trophy, popping champagne while clearly realizing their ultimate dream. There is nothing wrong with that image.

On the other hand, we have the man who admitted to losing the MVP trophy at some point between the final game and parade. (It has since been located by people clearly more concerned than the MVP himself.) This is Nikola Jokic: husband, father, lover of horses, believer in leisure and NBA champion.

Jokic’s audacity to be so unenthused by achieving his ultimate career goal is equal parts hilarious and noble. I’d venture to say he’s just more evolved than the rest of us.

Nikola Jokic. Photo courtesy Erik Drost via Wikimedia Commons.

Out of the plane and into the fire

A celebration of smokejumpers from Sandpoint

Every year, wildfires burn millions of acres across the West. While many of these burns affect public land, others creep ever closer to residential structures as we build farther into the wilderness.

When the call comes, wildland firefighters answer. Everyone from the engine crew to the elite hotshots chip in to attack, suppress and contain these dangerous burns, often working grueling hours with very little respite.

At the tip of this spear are the smokejumpers, a group of airborne wildland fire fighters who train to safely and quickly parachute as near as they can to remote fires. They help keep high-risk fires small by attacking them early, in locations otherwise inaccessible by road. Smokejumpers are a highly skilled and trained force that operates with self-sufficiency once they stand at the open door and drop into a fire.

Despite being located hours from the nearest smokejumper base, Sandpoint has contributed an inordinately high number of smokejumpers to the cause. Whether training with the Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Forest Service, smokejumpers from Sandpoint represent more than 1,000 operational fire jumps — a substantial chunk of the outfit’s output.

Smokejumping has a long history that started right here in Idaho. Rufus Robinson and Earl Cooley are credited as the first to make a “live” fire jump at the Martin Creek Fire on July 12, 1940. In those days, jumpers using old-style round parachutes would descend into a fire to provide initial attack. A lot has changed in the more than 80 years since its inception — including upgraded equipment and more downtime between jumps — but the primary mission of smokejumpers remains the same: To rapidly attack and suppress wildland fires as self-sufficient entities able to reach terrain far in the backcountry.

Here are some stories from just a few of the many smokejumpers from Sandpoint.

Gary Johnson

While he was born in Tucson, Ariz., Gary Johnson said his family ties to North Idaho go back more than 100 years. His family often visited Sandpoint during the summer, while his father was in the U.S. Air Force.

After his father retired in 1960, Johnson’s family moved to Sandpoint, where he graduated from Sandpoint High School in 1965. When faced with what job he would take to pay for college, Johnson said he tapped into old memories of his father, who worked with a chainsaw for the Kaniksu National Forest.

“I was heavily influenced by my dad,” he told the Reader. “I remember him

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

coming home smoky — that smell and his eyes always bloodshot. I thought, ‘This is cool. This is what I want to do. I want to get dirty.’”

While attending college at University of Idaho in Moscow, Johnson began working as a wildland firefighter. Little did he know it would be the beginning of a career that would dominate a large portion of his adult life.

“It was a great way to put myself through college,” he said. “I never borrowed a cent from my mom or dad.”

For the next seven summers, Johnson worked on the ground fighting fires in Yellowstone. His first exposure to smokejumpers came from one particular burn he worked on in 1966.

“I was on a fire where we hiked 12 miles in and got treed by a grizzly bear,” Johnson said. “Then jumpers came in and landed in a field when we got there. I thought, ‘Wow, what a neat way to get into a fire.’ … I cut and dropped trees and worked alongside these jumpers and thought these guys were really cool.”

It took nine years for Johnson to finish college due to the allure of fighting fires in summer and skiing in winter.

“I went to U of I so long, they thought I was working on my doctorate,” Johnson joked. “I wasn’t. I just liked fighting fires and skiing.”

It wasn’t until he and some of his fellow firefighters were sent to pull out a fallen smokejumper that Johnson began seriously considering joining the elite group he had admired from afar.

In 1973, a smokejumper named Gene Hobbs was inadvertently pulled out of an open door of a DC-3 plane. He hit the ground with only a damaged chute to slow his descent, receiving multiple traumatic injuries, including a broken neck. Johnson and his comrades were credited with saving Hobbs’ life after they brought him to safety.

“He was a pretty well-known jumper, so my name got out there,” Johnson said. “So I got picked up pretty easily at all the bases the next year.”

Johnson then underwent intensive training at the BLM smokejumper base in Fairbanks, Alaska. From Day 1, he was determined to succeed.

“You’ve got 100 pounds of gear on, and you’re out all day long for eight hours with your nose in the dirt, climbing walls, running a lot of miles,” he said. “Smokejumpers are the elite of the firefighting force, and the training is quite difficult.”

After completing training, Johnson worked as a regular jumper in Alaska for six years, then became a spotter and squad leader, an assistant training officer and EMT.

The training was brutal and the work often both physically and emotionally taxing, but there were always light moments.

On his first trip to the field as a jumper, Johnson said an S.O.S. call came from Arctic Village, a small Indigenous settlement located near the Arctic Wildlife Refuge.

“They said, ‘Run the jumpers out there,’ so myself and another jumped,” Johnson said. “When we got down, we learned that the Native was out of cigarettes. That was

the emergency … We had a fire pack that had old C-ration cigarettes, so we left him all of those and some snoose. It was a very expensive trip.”

Aside from that super-sized smoke run, Johnson said a lot of his jumps were to suppress single-tree lightning strikes to prevent them from growing larger.

“But the biggest challenge of jumping is often that the terrain we’re jumping into is really hostile,” he said. “Lightning doesn’t select nice places for us to jump.”

Once on the ground, jumpers would get to work with Pulaskis, chainsaws and shovels to dig fire lines.

“We would a lot of times jump a fire, dig fire line and work all the next day mopping up and digging more line,” he said. “We would do 48 hours almost straight. They’ve changed a little bit now. They’re more conscious of you getting rest, but we never got any rest in my era.”

After the hard work was completed, jumpers would sometimes catch a ride out by helicopter, but most often had to hike upward of 20 miles carrying 100 pounds of gear.

The work was not without its consequences. Johnson once broke his back on a hard landing after a fire jump. Another time he ran a tree branch right through his arm. In both cases, he was flown out by helicopter.

Aside from personal injury, there were other instances when jumpers didn’t come back at all. At the Mann Gulch fire in 1949 in Montana, 15 jumpers attacked the fire, but when high winds caused it to suddenly

Smokejumpers silhouetted against the red sky in the mid-1970s. Inset: Johnson descends from a training jump using an old-style round parachute.Photo courtesy Gary Johnson.

blow up and cut off the escape route, the jumpers were forced back uphill. Ultimately, 13 smokejumpers lost their lives that day, with Bob Sallee, of Sandpoint, being the last survivor. It remains the worst disaster for smokejumpers in history.

“It’s something you just cannot put into words,” Johnson said of his profession. “To be at that open door looking down at your proposed jump and knowing that the wind is going to change. It’s something that, unless you do it, you have no idea what it’s like to stand at that open door. … I really felt like forest defense was national defense. It’s like the National Guard doing their thing here at home, but we were trusted with protecting our national resources. I felt really good about that.”

At 40 years old, Johnson finally packed his chute for the last time and left smokejumping behind to continue his career in other aspects of wildland firefighting.

Johnson is quick to point out that he’s not interested in talking about his own exploits, but rather in sharing the history of all the Sandpoint jumpers who came before him, as well as those who followed him out the door. See the sidebar for Johnson’s notes about these Sandpoint jumpers.

Kim Keaton

Kim Keaton’s grandparents moved to Sandpoint in 1911 and he was raised on Railroad Avenue, where the Seasons is now located. Keaton remembers the 1967 Sundance Fire well. In fact, he and his friend (Gary Johnson) hiked up there frequently to enjoy the expansive views after the fire. After college, Keaton joined a trail crew and began a five-year stint as a wildland firefighter.

“After obtaining a degree in microbiology, I realized I wanted to continue my adolescence,”

Keaton told the Reader Fire marshall and jumper Larry Stone, who Keaton met while working on a trail crew, influenced him to explore jumping into fires. Meanwhile, fellow Sandpointians John and Jim Olson were then working for a hotshot crew, Keaton said. All three would end up joining the ranks of this elite group, with John completing training in 1977, Jim a year later and Keaton in 1979.

“Fifty guys in a hotshot crew would apply [to jump school] and only about 13 would make it,” Keaton said. “It was mentally and physically grueling work.”

After his jump training, Keaton continued training in weather, fire suppression and was also an EMT 2, which means he could provide

morphine if needed on the ground.

“When I wasn’t jumping, I was paracargo,” Keaton said. “That’s where you rig something you’re going to kick out to support large fire suppressions.”

One of the wildest missions Keaton took part in was kicking 500-gallon fuel bladders out of a C-119, which would drift to the ground with two 64-foot parachutes.

“If you had anything in the rail there, you’d be going out with the load,” he said.

While the work was always exhausting, Keaton said there was usually time for side missions.

“You were always busy, but when you’re initial attack, we all had fly fishing poles in side pockets,” he said. “The great thing with multiple fires is … while waiting for them to pick you up, you could fly fish.”

Keaton remembered one close call on a jump where, after touching down, he heard his fellow jumper scream for everyone to grab their gear and get out quickly.

“By the time the Bell 205 helicopter landed, we were kicking up flames on the pad,” he said. “You could feel the heat. That’s the closest I came to dying. We just got out of there. Later, we saw a little mark on the side where the fire had melted the heli’s side.

When you have an experienced guy and he screams something like that, you listen.”

Keaton spent one year on a hotshot crew and four years jumping, looking back on the 19-hour days and brutal conditions fondly. He tried his hand at everything from carpentry to property management before landing in his second major career of education.

“I taught five years at Lakeland, another five years at Sandpoint Middle School and was principal there for 15 years,” Keaton said. After his retirement, Keaton said he continued to work as an education consultant, helping school districts develop leadership teams from the bottom up.

He credits his years working as a smokejumper with helping to cultivate leadership and team-building skills that served him the rest of his life.

“Smokejumpers were a talented group of guys,” Keaton said. “You have to have grit to be a smokejumper. You have to be persistent and you have to have maybe an over-amount of confidence with decisions. … There’s an old Norwegian saying: ‘There’s no such thing as a bad day, only the choice of poor clothing.’ You need to be prepared for everything as a smokejumper.”

Kip Shields

“When I was 4 years old, I had an Alaska Smokejumpers shirt given to me by Gary Johnson,” Shields told the Reader. His family friendship with Johnson — and the T-shirt — would plant a seed for Shields to also join the ranks of jumpers later in life.

“I knew that wildland fire was something that would be a great opportunity from even a young age,” Shields said. “I wanted to work out in the woods; wanted to have time off. I liked to run saws and I loved big hikes.”

Shields wound up getting on the Carson City District in Nevada and later worked on an engine in Topaz, Calif., before he took a new job on a hotshot crew.

“Being a hotshot was like being in a 20-man family, and there were a couple of women there, too,” he said. “We’d have long shifts, and worked numerous days throughout the months. Not many days off. I loved how you’d go back into some part of the country you’d never go to if you weren’t on a crew like that.”

Shields worked all over the

Left: Gary Johnson in his full smokejumper rig. Middle: Kim Keaton heading to work. Photo taken in 1981 by J.C. Jones. Right: John Olson, left; and Gary Johnson, right, pose for the camera on a burn. Photo courtesy Gary Johnson.

West Coast, making it as far as South Dakota for five years before he found himself working on an engine in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest in 1999, where his boss was a Missoula jumper. He then drifted back to the Silver State Hotshots in Nevada and rose the ranks to saw boss, then squad boss for another five years.

Shields first put in for jump training in 2002, but didn’t get in. He reapplied the next year, too, but was also turned down.

“Then, they called me down in spring break and rescinded that declination because someone dropped out,” Shields said. “On April 26, 2004 I came up to Alaska to be a rookie smokejumper. I knew it was going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

Shields said instructors drilled so much information into trainees that it was almost second nature when it came time for his first fire jump.

“It just becomes the process,” he said. “When it comes time to get in the door of a plane, you’re so ingrained, you’re like a machine. When you’re in the door, you do your four-point check … Then the spotter slaps you and you exit with vigor … your parachute comes snapping open and the airplane is flying away. You see your jump partner and his chute opens as well. …

“When the parachute opens, everything is so serene and quiet. You’re above the river or the Colorado mountains or the Trinity Alps. That’s the best part of the job. Checking out your jump spot and making a nice soft into-thewind landing.”

But not all landings went as planned. On his first jump, Shields took extra care not to screw up and had a bit of a slow opening on his parachute.

“As I was flying to the spot, over this big beautiful Alaska meadow, all of these guys are landing on the side of the meadow and I said, ‘I’m going to try for the dead center.’”

The only problem was, meadows in Alaska are a bit different than in Idaho.

“It was like a floating bog,” he explained. “I landed and started sinking down in the bog

Sandpoint’s Smokejumpers

The following jumpers all hailed from Sandpoint. Their training class location and years are noted in parenthesis. MSO = Missoula. IDC = Idaho City. BOI = Boise. McC = McCall, ANCH = Anchorage and FAI = Fairbanks. Notes about each jumper have been provided by Gary Johnson.

Al Cramer (MSO 1943) “Al was an early pioneer jumper. He jumped a long time and spotted jumpers from the tri-motor for a demonstration. He jumped near the White House lawn in Washington, D.C. Al had 100+ fire jumps.”

Bob Sallee (MSO 1948) “Many of my uncles went to school with Bob. He was the last survivor of the Mann Gulch fire. Bob had about 10 fire jumps.”

Jim Thompson (MSO 1963) “I grew up with all the Thompson brothers. Jim had 15 fire jumps.”

knee-deep. I ended up swimming off of this floating peat bog and everyone was like, ‘Look at this rookie.’”

Shields said he shook off the gaffe, got to shore, grabbed a saw and started cutting line.

It wasn’t just fires that Shields and his fellow jumpers attacked. Sometimes it was project jumps, like retrieving rocket fuselages that were fired to check for aurora borealis. Because of the remote locations where the rocket bodies land and the dedication to leave these pristine wilderness areas untrammeled by man, jumpers sometimes descended to touchdown sites and packed out the rockets in pieces.

“We jumped right into the heart of the Brooks Range,” he said. “There was a caribou and grizzly bear by our jump spot. It was a graded valley that looked like a painting.”

Within three miles of their landing, Shields and fellow jumpers located the rocket bodies and cut them into 100-pound packs before searching for the next one.

“It’s weird seeing a rocket sticking up from the tundra like that,” he said.

Shields credits a lot of Sandpointians for both exposing him to the world of smokejumping, as well as teaching him important aspects of the job.

“Gary Johnson was my assistant fire management officer when I worked in Nevada,” Shields said. “He helped me out there as well, progressing my career and encouraging me to jump. I also worked with Joe Heisel from Clark Fork. He was a jumper out of Gran-

geville. Dave Lucht was my super on the Idaho Panhandle and John Olson, who I also worked with in Idaho Panhandle, came up on the bus all the time on Schweitzer. He’s one of the most stoked guys in the world and he was a big encouragement for me to jump.”

Shields still works in wildland fire suppression to this day. He currently works as a BLM assistant fire management officer of the Upper Yukon Zone at Alaska Fire Service, which oversees all 52 million acres of federal land in Alaska.

When asked why so many Sandpointians became smokejumpers, Shields said it’s probably something about this region that created so many adventurous souls.

“We look at a lot of people from Sandpoint and what they’ve done,” he said. “There’s the skiing crowd, the snowboarding crowd. Schweitzer puts out a lot of high-functioning individuals. There are also great family values in Sandpoint, encouraging us to get out in the woods. It’s why we live here and it’s how I was raised.”

As wildfires become more severe in the future, the mission of smokejumpers continues to be as important today as it was 80 years ago when those two jumpers first pitched out of the plane and into the fire. With more than 1,000 live fire jumps, Sandpoint’s smokejumpers have certainly earned their place in history as protectors of our natural resources as well as adventure seekers. We’re honored to call them native sons.

Oval “Bill” Gastineau (MSO 1963) “He and my cousin were on the winning state basketball team. Bill had 22 fire jumps.”

Kevin Brown (MSO 1966) “We were in high school together. Kevin held the Idaho record for the one-mile run in track for a long time. He ruptured his spleen on a fire jump and that was the end of his career Kevin had 22 fire jumps.”

Steve Walker (MSO 1968) “We spent a year in Europe together. Steve had 55 fire jumps.”

Mike Boeck (IDC 1969) “One of my brother’s best friends in high school. Mike had 15 fire jumps.”

Wayne Fields (BOI 1976) “Wayne had 70 fire jumps.”

Doug Abromeit (McC 1971) “One of my best friends since the eighth grade. Doug had 50 fire jumps.”

Dann Hall (ANCH 1972) “Another close friend since the eighth grade. Earned the name ‘Freefall Hall’ for failing to hook up during a fire jump. Fortunately the spotter caught it or Dann would have had even less fire jumps. Dann probably had 10 fire jumps.”

John Snedden (BOI 1973) “My brother’s best friend. John had 27 fire jumps.”

Gary Johnson (FAI 1974) Gary is credited with saving Gene Hobbs’ life and had 138 fire jumps.

John Olson (FAI 1977) “I helped John get his first Alaskan job. John had 80 fire jumps.”

Jim Olson (FAI 1978) “The ‘lesser’ Olson brother. Jim had a long career in smokejumping and helped improve the Ram Air parachute system. Jim had 200 fire jumps.”

Kim Keaton (FAI 1979) “Kim had approximately 50 fire jumps.”

Scott Chehock (MSO 1979) “At one time, Scotty was the youngest ski instructor in America. Scott probably had 70 fire jumps between MSO and NIFC.”

Kip Shields (FAI 2004) “Diane and I babysat Kip when he was below knee high! Kip was on Silver State Hotshots for five years when I was AFMO for Carson District. Our families go back five generations in Sandpoint. Kip had 103 fire jumps.”

Gary Johnson, left, and Dann Hall, right. Photo courtesy Gary Johnson.

Festival at Sandpoint seeking volunteers and production crew

By Reader Staff

The Festival at Sandpoint is seeking volunteers for its 2023 Summer Series from Thursday, July 27 through Sunday, Aug. 6.

“FAS is incredibly grateful to have such a supportive community that volunteers their time and effort year after year,” the organization stated. “An annual event as large as the Festival at Sandpoint Summer Performance Series would not be possible without the outstanding team of over 600 volunteers that pitch in each year.”

Volunteer departments include front gate, merchandise, green team, hospitality and more. “Becoming a volunteer is a great way to be part of the excitement of the Festival while also giving back to the community and a non-profit organization,” according to FAS.

The Festival at Sandpoint is also seeking production crew members to join the team for the 2023 Summer Series. The production crew assists in the physical setup of the venue, provides essential operating support of the venue for the duration of the series and restores War Memorial Field upon completion of the event.

Those interested in becoming a Festival at Sandpoint volunteer or production crew member during the 2023 Summer Performance Series are invited to visit festivalatsandpoint.com/opportunities, fill out the online application and learn more.

events

June 22-29, 2023

Amateur Radio

Day’ will

Live Music w/ Chris Paradis

6-8m @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

THURSDAY, June 22

Outdoor Experience Community Yoga

6pm @ Outdoor Experience

All levels welcome, free, mats available

Game Night

6:30pm @ Tervan Tavern

FriDAY, June 23

Live Music w/ Ian Newbill

5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Live Music w/ Doug Bond

6-9pm @ BlueRoom

Live Music w/ Bright Moments

5:30-8pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante Sandpoint jazz band

Karaoke

8pm @ Tervan Tavern

Live Music w/ Ben Vogel

5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Singer-songwriter playing blues, rock, jazz and soul

Live Music w/ Kyle Smith

9pm @ The Hive

Touring reggae artist offering his blend of SoCal reggae with ska, punk rock and hip hop. 21+

Karaoke

8pm @ Tervan Tavern

Sandpoint Chess Club

9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee

Meets every Sunday at 9am

Live Music w/ Ian Newbill

4-7pm @ Drift (in Hope)

Country and classic rock

Live Music w/ Jeff Crosby Band

8:45pm @ The Hive

Enjoy some good ol’ Americana from Jeff Crosby Band at the Hive. 21+ livefromthehive.com

Live Music w/ John Firshi Blues Crew

6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Live Music w/ Patrice Webb

6-9pm @ BlueRoom

Local Men’s Exhibition Soccer Match

7pm @ War Memorial Field

Sandpoint Legends vs. Whitefish Rapids. $5 at the gate but kids in soccer jerseys get in free Panida Pride Event: The Birdcage

7pm @ Panida

In this remake of the classic French farce “La Cage aux Folles,” engaged couple Val Goldman (Dan Futterman) and Barbara Keeley (Calista Flockhart) shakily introduce their future in-laws. Panida.org

SATURDAY, June 24

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market

9am-1pm @ Farmin Park

Live music by Monarch Mountain

Live Music w/ Bright Moments

6-9pm @ Connie’s Lounge

Live Music w/ Jesse Ahmann & Steve Neff

6-9pm @ BlueRoom

Live Music w/ Sheldon Packwood & Jacob Fuller

7-9pm @ Connie’s

Xana Kernodle Endowment Fundraiser Dinner

5-8pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall

Dinner of spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and dessert for a donation of $10 and $7 for kids 12 and under. Rest in peace, Xana Spacepoint Summer Solstice Sci-Fi Series • 6pm @ Panida Theater

Dr. Matthew Hedman will present NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to one of Jupiter’s Galilean moons Europa. After a short intermission, there will be a free screening of Guardians of the Galaxy. Panida.org

Live Music w/ Right Front Burner

9pm @ 219 Lounge

No cover

SunDAY, June 25

Magic with Star Alexander

5-8pm @ Jalepeño’s

Up close magic shows at the table

Karaoke

8pm @ Tervan Tavern

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi

7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

and service

By Reader Staff

Members of the Bonner County Amateur Radio Club, along with the Bonner County Amateur Radio Emergency Service, will be participating in the national amateur radio Field Day exercise, Saturday, June 24-Sunday, June 25, at the Edgemere Grange (3273 Bandy Road, in Priest River).

The event is sponsored annually by the American Radio Relay League. Since 1933, ham radio operators across North America have established temporary ham radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the science and skill of amateur radio. Field Day is a demonstration for how amateur radio works reliably under any conditions from almost any location to create an independent communications network.

Local Cottage Market • 10am-6pm @ Farmin Park Vendors selling everything from freeze-dried goods to leather and pottery. Market runs every Sunday until October 1

monDAY, June 26

Outdoor Experience Group Run

6pm @ Outdoor Experience

3-5 miles, all levels welcome

tuesDAY, June 27

Bingo Night

5-8pm @ Paddler’s Alehouse

Full Draw Film Tour

7pm @ Panida Theater

Back for its 13th season. $20/$10

See Page 19 for details

Live Music w/ Kerry Leigh

6-8m @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

wednesDAY, June 28

Live Piano w/ Jason Evans

5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market

3-5pm @ Farmin Park

ThursDAY, June 29

Game Night 6:30pm @ Tervan Tavern

Summer Sampler • 5-8pm @ Farmin Park

Sandpoint’s finest restaurants and chefs present offerings to the public at this popular event. This also includes a chef competition.

Ham radio remains one of the best ways for people to learn about electronics, physics, meteorology and numerous other scientific disciplines, and is an asset to communities during disasters or emergencies, should standard communications infrastructure become inoperable.

Visitors are encouraged to stop by from 1-4 p.m. June 24 to see communications in action and learn about the various modes of communication local Bonner County amateur radio operators, or “hams,” are involved with.

For information about Field Day or how to get involved with amateur radio locally, visit the Bonner County Amateur Club website at k7jep.org, Bonner County Amateur Radio Emergency Service website at k7bnr.org or arrl.org/what-isham-radio.

‘Field

focus on skills, science

Spacepoint hosts presentation on Europa Clipper alongside Panida screening of GuardiansoftheGalaxy

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Sandpoint’s new aerospace education nonprofit, Spacepoint, will host another in its series of events at the Panida Theater, with a screening Saturday, June 24 of the Marvel blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy — but not before an exciting and informative presentation from University of Idaho Professor Matthew Hedman on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter and the planet’s Galilean moon Europa.

Doors open at 5 p.m., with Hedman’s presentation at 6 p.m., followed by the film screening at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for kids and $15 for adults.

The Clipper’s goal is to determine if Europa is habitable. The moon is covered in ice, but scientists are all but certain it hosts a saltwater ocean beneath the surface. The Clipper will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Oct. 6, 2024

from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

According to organizers, for this event only, a number of students will be identified for a free trip to witness the Europa blast off in person. And, as with all Spacepoint events coinciding with the seasonal equinox and solstice, students ages 6-17 will compete to qualify for Kennedy Space Camp tickets.

In April, Spacepoint launched its inaugural event with a screening of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story at the Panida, including a presentation from U of I Professor Jason Barnes, who is lead principal investigator on the multi-billion-dollar NASA Dragonfly mission to the moon of Titan orbiting Saturn.

Hedman is an associate professor in the office of engineering and physics, with specialties in astronomy and planetary science, orbital dynamics, planetary rings and infrared spectroscopy.

Spacepoint’s mission is to connect Sandpoint residents — with an emphasis on young

people — to specialists and topics related to the space industry, and has as its founding goal to “drive and invest in education, engagement, experience and participation in the space exploration industry.”

The organization has hosted a rocketry competition and — in an especially exciting project — is beginning the buildout of an observatory at the U of

I Sandpoint Organic Agricultural Center at the base of Schweitzer Mountain on North Boyer Avenue.

“Our great partnership with UI continues,” Spacepoint organizer Kyle Averill told the Reader in an email. “We are targeting late summer for implementation and we’ll likely have a star party to support the launch. More to follow!”

For tickets and more information, go to spacepoint.org/ event-details-registration/summer-solstice-sci-fi-series.

Full Draw Film Tour to bring the best of bowhunting to the Panida

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

A good hunting story does not begin and end with a harvest. In fact, some of the best hunting stories have nothing at all to do with a kill.

The art of the hunting story is tethered closely to the same things that make any story great: Who was there? What was the terrain like? What went wrong? What went right? What did you learn?

No one knows the art of the hunting story better than the filmmakers highlighted by the Full Draw Film Tour, which will hit the screen at the Panida Theater on Wednesday, June 28 as part of its 13th season of

bringing the world’s top-tier bowhunting films to screens across the country.

The tour is presented by OnX Hunt, an app that provides mapping tools for hunters. The Sandpoint show will feature several films by independent creators, as well as hunting gear giveaways courtesy of Full Draw Film Tour partners.

bowhunting.

Organizers call the tour “a movie night with a concert vibe” — “Think National Geographic and Metallica had a baby!”

Full Draw Film Tour

Wednesday, June 28; doors at 6 p.m., films at 7 p.m.; $20/ adult, $10/youth at the door or online. Panida Theater, 301 N. First Ave., 208-2639191, panida.org. Get tickets at panida.org. Learn more at fulldrawfilmtour.com.

Doors open to the Sandpoint event at 6 p.m. and the films begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for youth, ages 4-17. Tickets are available online at panida.org or at the door.

The 2023 tour features eight films covering varied terrain and animals, starring everyone from backcountry veterans to youngsters being introduced to

For a full rundown of the 2023 Full Draw Film Tour filmmakers and trailers, go to fulldrawfilmtour.com/2023-filmmakers.

Courtesy photo.

The Europa Clipper will launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in October 2024. Photo courtesy NASA.

MUSIC

POAC announces upcoming performing arts series

Tickets and season passes now on sale

By Reader Staff

Announced as part of its annual ArtWalk kickoff on June 16, the Pend Oreille Arts Council’s 2023’24 Performing Arts Series lineup includes eclectic performances in everything from indie folk to classical piano and modern dance to spoken word.

The season kicks off in the fall and continues through the spring, with all performances presented at the historic Panida Theater (300 N. First Ave.).

Tickets went on sale June 17, with prices ranging from $5-40 per show, and a limited number of POAC season passes available at $199 for discounted admittance to all seven shows.

Upcoming shows are as follows:

Wednesday, Sept. 27: Repertory Dance Theater

Experience a magical evening of modern dance performed by one of the oldest and most respected dance companies in the country. Tickets $35 adult, $10 youth.

Saturday, Oct. 28: Jarbe Mexicano

Celebrate Dia de los Muertos with “Bordeno-Soul” music from north and south of the border.

Tickets $35 adult, $10 youth.

Saturday, Nov. 18: Missoula Children’s Theater presents King Arthur’s Quest

The ever-popular community theater event, casting a host of local children of all ages for a production of the fairytale classic. Tickets $20 adult, $10 youth.

Thursday, Jan. 18: Letters Aloud presents The Road to Fame

Private letters read in public: The wildly popular show currently sweeping the nation, full of entertainment and laughter. Tickets $35 adult, $10 youth.

Wednesday, Feb. 14: Tien Hsieh, Concert Pianist

Spend the perfect Valentine’s Day with someone you love serenaded by the renowned Steinway artist who has become a Sandpoint favorite. Complimentary glass of champagne for those over 21 years old. Tickets $40 adult, $10 youth.

Tuesday, March 5: The Sweet Remains

Multi-instrumental indie folkrock band with lush harmonies. Tickets $30 adult, $10 youth.

Friday, April 12: Dino Lights

A visual and audio delight the whole family will enjoy. Tickets $30 adult, $10 youth.

Visiting performers will also participate in POAC’s Ovations program, a free K-12 outreach that provides quality educational experiences in the performing arts for students who would otherwise not have these opportunities. In addition to all public performances at the Panida Theater, workshops, performances and outreach programs are planned throughout the year in the Lake Pend Oreille School District.

“From classical to contemporary musicians, dancers, actors and spoken word artists, POAC has a long tradition of presenting culturally diverse performances, geared for audiences of all ages, at affordable prices,” said POAC Executive Director Tone Stolz. “We are

thrilled to present a new season of exceptional artistic quality, theatrical excitement and inspiration to the Sandpoint community through the performing arts.”

A limited number of POAC season passes are available and fully transferable. Tickets are available for purchase online at artinsandpoint.org, by calling 208-263-6139 or by visiting the POAC office at 110 Main Street, Suite 101 in downtown Sandpoint.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available for POAC’s Performing Arts Series, and for individual shows. Call the POAC office for details.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint

Jeff Crosby Band, The Hive, June 23

When Sandpointians first got to know Jeff Crosby, he was an up-and-comer, gigging his roughand-tumble, sometimes-whimsical, sometimes-somber-souled, always engaging vision of Americana through the region. That was more than a decade ago. Today, Idaho-born Crosby is a man of the world, having toured throughout the U.S. and Europe, and — upon a relocation to L.A. in 2012 — enjoyed the success that came with getting two of his songs featured on the wildly popular mid-’10s TV series Sons of Anarchy

Since then, Crosby and his

Monarch Mountain Band, Farmin Park, June 24

band have performed more than 200 shows a year around the States, across the pond and beyond; spent three years in Nashville; and, finally, came home to the Gem State to continue touring with his band fulltime in support of his most recent release Northstar (2020) and the single “Runnin’ Free” (2021). There’s no doubt: The Hive will be abuzz to Crosby and company.

— Zach Hagadone

Doors at 7 p.m., show at 8:45 p.m.; $15-$20; 21+. The Hive, 207 N.First Ave., 208-920-9039, livefromthehive.com. Listen at jeffcrosbymusic.com.

The perfect pairings of summertime might include bare feet on cool grass or a frozen treat after a hard day of garden work. Count among those perfect pairings bluegrass music and the Farmers’ Market — particularly when that music is courtesy of the Monarch Mountain Band.

The band is headed by Scott Reid, who provides vocals, banjo, guitar, fiddle and harmonica to its energetic blend of bluegrass and folk rock. That sound is rounded out by a cast of other local musicians on percussion, bass and more alongside

Reid, turning out bluegrass standards and covers of everyone from Bob Dyan to the Grateful Dead. The band stays busy playing local and regional gigs for crowds that have either heard of the Monarch Mountain Band and know to wear their best toe-tapping shoes, or who are about to become fans of this dependable and entertaining act.

— Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey

10 a.m.-1 p.m., FREE. Farmin Park, Third Avenue and Main Street in Sandpoint. Listen at reverbnation. com/monarchmountainband.

I’ve become a religious NPR Politics Podcast listener over the past year, which has introduced me to many talented reporters who share their research on the daily show. One of those reporters is Miles Parks, who covers voting and recently published an investigative report titled, “Why the far right targeted ERIC, a tool to catch voter fraud.” ERIC, or the Electronic Registration Information Center, had bipartisan support and worked to clean up national voter rolls for a decade, until misinformation led to several states heeding unfounded public demands to abandon it. Find the story on npr.org.

READ LISTEN

I discovered the album Bloom Mountain by Hazlett the same way I find so much of my music these days: by listening to a curated Spotify playlist (in this case “Roots Rising”) and then following the trail to the artist’s larger catalog. This Australian singer-songwriter caught my ear with the haunting ballad “Please Don’t Be,” which happens to be the opening track on his 2023 10-track release Bloom Mountain. The album is 40 minutes of unskippable indie goodness from an artist who is only getting started.

WATCH

It’s tempting to masquerade as someone who is far too evolved to love car chase movies, but I think it’s more important not to be a liar. I just watched the 2000 film Gone in 60 Seconds (a favorite of my husband’s, who has never been ashamed of his love for car chase movies) and I don’t think I could have loved it more. It features Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie (a love pairing I didn’t know I needed) as car thieves with an impossible mission: to steal 50 luxury cars in a single night. The ensemble cast and subtle humor make this a movie

I’d watch again.

This week’s RLW by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey

Concert pianist Tien Hsieh will perform at the Panida Theater Wednesday, Feb. 14. Courtesy photo.

From Pend Oreille Review, June 16, 1911

OLD-TIMER SUCCUMBS

John Russell, one of the earliest pioneers of this section of the state was found dead Sunday morning at his residence at Rathdrum. Mr. Russell had been out to a lodge meeting of the Foresters Saturday night and on returning to his home in the Russell block had proceeded to retire. He had removed one of his shoes and had been apparently in the act of unlacing the other when he suddenly stopped breathing. Death was due to apoplexy. The discovery of his dead body was made Sunday morning by his daughter who resided with him.

The deceased was about 65 years of age and a native of Ireland. He came to Sandpoint over a quarter of a century ago and conducted one of the first general stores here. About 22 years ago he opened a store at Rathdrum and for a time owned stores both at Rathdrum and Sandpoint. He was active in the organization of old Kootenai county and while a resident here and at Rathdrum served two terms on the board of county commissioners. County auditor McCrea of this county entered his employ as clerk in his Rathdrum store 22 years ago and continued with him for a period of years. He built up a large mercantile business from which he retired in well-to-do circumstances a few years ago. The Russell block is one of the best business blocks at Rathdrum.

He was a widower, Mrs. Russell dying about ten years ago. He leaves a large family of children.

BACK OF THE BOOK A thousand deadlines…

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

As Reader Publisher Ben Olson pointed out in his “Dear Readers” column last week, I celebrated something of a milestone on June 14: My 1,000th deadline. That was an approximation, of course, cobbled together as my best estimate in a fit of exhausted idleness and based on the rumination that this summer marks the 20th anniversary of when two college classmates and I had the crazy idea to start a little arts-and-entertainment weekly called the Sandpoint Reader

I remember well that we spent the summer and fall of that year plotting, planning and establishing the paper and, when it finally hit the streets as Vol. 1 No. 1 on Dec. 23, 2004, we enjoyed about an hour or so of jubilation before realizing we had to do it all over again during the course of the following seven days. Thus began the cyclical grind that has dictated my life for the past 19-ish years.

In an effort at accuracy, I sat down on a recent Friday morning and actually crunched the numbers — as near as I could, looking back over old calendars — and it turns out that I’ve actually overshot the 1,000 mark by at least 25 weeks at various papers in various places, and frequently doubling up on deadlines between the Reader and wherever I happened to be working at the time.

By the time my wife, two kids and I came home to Sandpoint in June 2019, I’d hit something like 821 cumulative weekly deadlines at the Reader, Idaho Business Review, Boise Weekly and Inlander. Since then, I’ve logged exactly 204 deadline Wednesdays at the Reader(not counting this one, because for me it hasn’t happened yet), amounting to the current approximate total as of this writing.

None of that counts my time as a Daily Bee copy editor, cartoonist and sometimes correspondent off and on from spring-ish

And still trying to figure it all out

1999 to summer-ish 2000 (and as the worst ad salesperson ever at the Bee for a few months in spring-summer 2004), nor my monthly deadlines as a student journalist at then-Albertson College of Idaho, nor my twice-weekly deadlines as an Associated Press weekend staffer in Boise for nine months in 2003, nor my occasional quarterly deadlines for Sandpoint Magazine over the years.

Who knows what the actual total is, and who cares? That this mental exercise (OK, call it navel gazing) makes me feel old and tired before my time is a grand understatement, and should not be taken for an attempt to claim bragging rights.

Daily newspaper and online journalists have many, many more deadlines under their belts. Yet here I am — just shy of 20 years since the idea of the Reader was hatched in a drunken conversation at the end of a dock in McCall — with enough weekly deadlines in my tally to represent about 7,000 days of my life (meanwhile, in late September, I will be 15,695 days old, making that former figure chillingly close to half the latter).

What does it all mean? Nothing, really. There’s this silly notion that 10,000 hours of practice will make you an expert at anything. Assuming I worked 40 hours for every one of those deadlines, I should be an “expert” in whatever I’ve been up to in this business more than four times over. I don’t feel that way.

As the deadlines pile up, I find myself failing with increasing frequency to understand just what the hell is going on around here.

A sizable portion of our population thinks libraries are porn shops, schools are reeducation camps and rainbows on beer cans are the first shot in a second American Revolution; having relevant qualifications is apparently no longer a qualification for getting a government job, so long as you’re partisan enough to gain the blessing of The Party… which

Sudoku Solution STR8TS Solution

is the same Party that proclaims to defend individual rights while stripping individual rights from more than half the people in the country and demanding absolute obedience to its agenda; all of a sudden the federal government just stopped protecting wetlands because some people in Priest Lake wanted to build a house on them; it’s a brain-exploding irony that babies can’t be born in Bonner County because certain creepy misogynist authoritarians are so morbidly obsessed with other people’s reproduction that no sane health care provider wants to touch Idaho with a rented stethoscope; we have lawmakers in Boise who openly express their hatred of democracy; and somehow shitbox houses still start at half-a-million bucks.

So consider this a confession: Regardless of what some people might say, write or think, there is no “cabal” of insider “media” fixers with their hands on the levers of politics and culture. If there was, I certainly would have caught wind of it at some point over those 1,000-plus weeks. Nope, especially among local news reporters, we’re just a bunch of people trying as best as we can to figure out what’s happening and telling our neighbors about it — and, a lot of times, we’re just as confused about it as you are.

Crossword Solution

To my way of thinking, there’s nothing that can’t be cured by a big ol’ pot of beans. Except maybe bean fever.

Laughing Matter

Solution on page 22

By Bill Borders

CROSSWORD

Solution on page 22

gazetteer /gaz-i-TEER/

Word Week of the

[noun]

1. a geographical dictionary.

Corrections: In the story “WBSD holds off — again — on approving superintendet contract,” (News, June 15), we incorrectly stated that the Idaho Freedom Foundation is a 501(c)(4) organization. IFF is a 501(c) (3)organization, while its political action wing, Idaho Freedom Action, is a 501(c)(4).

“The tourists relied on a detailed gazetteer as they traveled around the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland.”